I love everything to do with space and space travel. I remember the hairs standing up on the back of my neck when I watched the first men land on the moon in 1969. (I still choke up when I see that video.) I really envy those who get to work on things like probes to explore the moons of Jupiter. At the recent Design West 2013 Conference and Exhibition, it was thrilling to hear Luke Dubord, an avionics systems engineer from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, give his keynote presentation about the Mars Curiosity Rover.

The other amazing thing is how much new information we are constantly discovering. When Einstein published his general relativity theory in 1916, it was generally believed that ours was the only galaxy in the universe. Today's estimates put the number of galaxies in the universe at between 100 billion and 500 billion. Furthermore, we now know that these galaxies are organized in a way that resembles a three-dimensional fabric.

The reason I'm going on about this is that I have just heard that Littelfuse Inc. has created a NASA Exploration & Discovery Experience for the engineering community as part of its 2013 Speed2Design promotion.

Last year, for the inaugural Speed2Design event, Littelfuse took lucky winners behind the scenes for an IndyCar weekend race experience. Winners participated in face-to-face TechTalks with engineers responsible for building and maintaining racing's premiere performance machines. This year, Littelfuse is once again taking engineers behind the scenes for a truly unique experience.

Winning design engineers will get an opportunity to spend time with NASA engineers at two premiere facilities. Littelfuse will host Speed2Design TechTalk events Aug. 15 at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., and Oct. 24 at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Over the next few months, Littelfuse will randomly select 10 winners to participate in each event. There's no cost to the winners -- Littelfuse will cover travel, lodging, and event expenses.

The winners will spend time in a peer-to-peer discussion with NASA engineers working on technological breakthroughs in small spacecraft, intelligent robotics, 3D printing, bioengineering, and the NASA Space Portal. Hospitality events will be included the night before and the day of each event.

Littelfuse created the Speed2Design Exploration & Discovery events to give the design community an exclusive opportunity to meet and talk with engineers working on some of the most exciting and advanced technology being developed today.

Cathy Whittaker, the firm's director of global marketing communications, said in a press release:

We created the 2013 Speed2Design Exploration & Discovery experience to bring engineers face-to-face with some of the most impressive technology on the planet. The design engineers we work with appreciate the technology challenges, demands and reliability required of the electronics that go into modern spacecraft and support systems. This year's Speed2Design events offer design engineers an opportunity to get an "up close and personal" look at the world's most advanced technologies and to talk to space exploration experts who create these innovations.

If you ever make it to Texas - a trip to Mcdonald Observatory would be an unforgettable experience for your family. They have frequent "star parties" - we have been to several at different times of year. The scenery in that part of the country is amazing and Big Bend is in the same geographic area which is a great camping destination (they have cabins too).

The visit to the observatory and seeing the cool tech used by astronomers sounds like a blast. My wife and I were trying to get our boys into space camp but the waiting list is quite long. Therefore, the alternative to camp was a trip to the space museum. We all had a good time!!!

but I tend to get vertigo and don't know if I could do it. We were very blessed to visit the McDonald Observatory at Fort Davis a few years ago. The director, Dr. David Lambert, invited our family to a late night of observation behind the scenes from the astronomer's work station. An evening we will never forget!

I agree. Space Technology is quite fascinating and does provide a lot of commmerical product influence. The Marshall Space and Rocket Museum here in Huntsville, AL is quite an impressive exhibit of the human spirit to explore new galaxies through engineering ingenuity.One of the exhibits at the museum that always pique my interest is the computers design and built for space navigation. All those little transistors perfoming complex calculations is quite an engineering marvel.

If a major catastrophe strikes your area, will you be prepared? Do you know how to modify the tech you've already got or MacGyver what you need to fit your own situation? A free, five-day Continuing Education Center course starting April 6 will show you how.

Focus on Fundamentals consists of 45-minute on-line classes that cover a host of technologies. You learn without leaving the comfort of your desk. All classes are taught by subject-matter experts and all are archived. So if you can't attend live, attend at your convenience.